Out of the Dark, Into the Light
by Blaire Nightshade
Summary: "If you go through with this, you…will…fail." After being backed into a corner by Admiral Marcus, Khan finds an unlikely ally that is willing to help smuggle his crew to safety and prevent intergalactic war. However, plans are thrown aside when 1 of the 72 is accidentally released from stasis and none other than Captain James T. Kirk is dispatched to locate her. AU. Kirk/OC Khan/OC
1. Everybody Hates Tuesdays

**AN: Hello lovely people who have graciously decided to give my story a moment of your valuable time. Anyways, I recently rewatched Into Darkness and I couldn't help but think that Khan would have made a valuable ally to Kirk and company...if he wasn't a homicidal, mass-murdering, maniac. Oh well, so this plotline kind of sprung into my head and I had to write it out. It is very AU but follows the basic plotline of ST: Into Darkness. **

**It also features several OC characters (Kirk/OC, Khan/OC), I'm hoping it doesn't get too complicated down the line...but if it does let me know, I'll fix it up. **

**Final note, there will also be several flashbacks involving Khan and the 72 crew members and how they ended up in Cyrofreeze and floating around the universe.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

_Officer Thomas Harewood was sitting on the edge of his seat as he looked down at his terminally ill daughter's bed. He slowly stroked her arm comfortingly as tears pooled in his eyes. _

"_I can save her…" A deep voice that sent chills down a person's spine spoke up._

_Harewood froze at the chilling voice and slowly turned to face the man who spoke, "What did you say?"_

_The man looked at Harewood before confirming, "Your daughter. I can save her."_

"_Who are you?" Harewood looked on in confusion._

* * *

_A blonde male officer shook his head as he thought aloud to the other senior officers. "In the event of an attack, protocol mandates that senior command gathers captains and first officers to Starfleet HQ. Right here…in this room."_

"_It is curious-"A Vulcan was cut off as a whirring happened outside the briefing room._

"_Clear the room," The blonde captained shouted in vain before the windows to the room were shattered as a one-manned shuttle ship fired shots on the Starfleet officers._

* * *

_The hooded figure jumped off the crevice and landed soundly 20 feet below as he dispatched and killed the three remaining Klingons. He then picked up the discarded phaser rifle and aimed it at the captain, the Vulcan, and the female translator. _

"_How many torpedoes?" The man demanded as he ignored the Vulcan's orders to stand down. He finally got tired and shot the phaser right out of the Vulcan's hands. _

"_The torpedoes, the weapons you threatened me with in your message…how many are there?"_

_All three Starfleet officers froze before the Vulcan answered "72."_

_The man's lip curled back before he tossed his rifle down carelessly and turned himself over to the crew of the USS Enterprise._

* * *

_The man was seated on the bench in his cell as the captain stood behind the glass wall. "Give me one reason why I should listen to you."_

_The man turned his head, "I can give you 72."_

* * *

_After finding a cryogenically frozen man in one of the advanced torpedoes the captain stormed back to the man's cell and demanded answers._

"_My name is Khan!" _

_The scene played out, "You are a murderer!"_

"_My crew is my family Kirk…is there anything you would not do for your family?" Khan challenged._

* * *

"_YOU SHOULD HAVE LET ME SLEEEEEEP!" Khan hissed as he crushed Admiral Marcus skull with his bare hands._

* * *

"_KHAAAAAAAN!" The Vulcan bellowed as he watched Captain Kirk's life slip away._

* * *

Lieutenant Malachi Troi awoke with a start as his bizarre dream came to an abrupt halt. The same dream he had been having for the past several nights. That Vulcan's painful cry echoed in his head as he kicked his sheets off and sat up in his bed. Troi rubbed his fingers against his droopy eyes before settling against his temple in an attempt to ease the migraine that had suddenly hit him. He held his hand out in front of him and watched it twitch uncontrollably…he was afraid.

Under normal circumstances, Troi would've ignored the vivid dreams he had been having just like any other man. He would boil it down to too much caffeine before bed…but these weren't normal circumstances, and he wasn't a normal man.

In fact, Troi wasn't a man at all. He was a humanoid alien called a Betazoid. Virtually identical to humans externally and internally with the exception of the eyes. Betazoids irises were a deep black that matched the pupil.

But mentally, humans were as similar to a Betazoid as a chicken was to a Romulan. Betazoid's were telepaths. Any thought or emotion that ran through a person's head, a Betazoid would pick it up as if it were simply a radio frequency getting transmitted through a speaker.

So when Troi was having vivid dreams that had been repeating themselves on a loop for the past two weeks…it most likely meant something big was about to go down.

"Lights," Troi whispered as the automated overhead bulbs lit up and illuminated his room. He took a final shaky breath before he stood up and walked into his bathroom.

He stopped in front of the mirror and glanced at his reflection. His eyes looked into two pools of never ending abyss that made certain people uneasy. Troi sighed as he ran his hand along his bristly jaw.

He groaned before stripping down and stepped into the hydraulic shower. As the hot water hit his body he began to process every detail about the dream.

**-A genetically engineered superhuman named Khan**

**-72 crewmates in suspended animation**

**-Captain James Tiberius Kirk dead**

**-84 men and women casualties in total from bombings and HQ ambush**

**-Admiral Alexander Marcus a traitor?**

Troi pondered that last fact as he stepped out of the shower and patted himself off with his towel and walked back into his bedroom to put his uniform on.

Malachi Troi was a high ranking Lieutenant serving onboard the_ Vengeance_. Admiral Marcus was the Captain of the ship as well as the Commander and Chief of Starfleet. Why would he go against every protocol and regulation Starfleet upholds? The purpose of Starfleet was to act as an exploration organization to discover new corners of the universe; it was certainly not a military force.

Troi furrowed his brow as he sat down and pulled up the holographic screen of his personal computer. He quickly put 'Khan genetic engineering soldier' into the search engine and a file popped up about the Eugenics war and World War III from back in the early 2000's.

Troi rubbed his temple for the second time as he tried to piece the clues together. He might not be human, but being raised on Earth he had definitely learned his fair share about World War III, the 50 year war that nearly plunged humanity back into the dark ages. Many people blamed the war on the Augments, the common term for the super soldiers such as Khan, but that was the subject of much speculation even to this day.

All Troi knew and cared about was that somewhere down the line, Admiral Marcus was going to stumble upon Khan's ship and exploit the Augment leader for the purpose of War. Indirectly causing tens of thousands of innocent deaths.

And Troi would be damned before he let that happen.

There was only one choice Troi had…he'd have to convince a 300 year old tyrannical superhuman to not wage a one-man war against Earth and Starfleet.

And it was only Tuesday…bring it on.

* * *

**Let me know what you think!**

**P.S. Betazoids were from Next Generation (they're telepaths and they have black eyes), and Malachi Troi is designed after Tom Hiddleston.**


	2. The Calm before the Storm

**Hello everyone! Here is chapter 2, it's a little dry as it is mainly a filler that preps the rest of the story...so it had to be done, i really hope it doesn't seem to rushed (regardless please let me know what you think, by reviewing).**

** i promise it is gonna be nothing but edge of your seat from here on out. **

**I do not own Star Trek in any way, shape, or form...if I did Benedict's shower scene wouldn't have been cut from the film. **

* * *

Lt. Malachi Troi took deep breaths as he relaxed his neck and resumed his meditation. It had been three longs months since he deduced the identity of the future terrorist know as Khan. And life on the _USS_ _Vengeance_ was silent.

There were no hostile Romulan ships; no devious Ferengi looters; and no sign of the sleeper ship the Botany Bay…it was all quiet on the final frontier.

A few minutes later, he was rudely interrupted from his mediating by a loud thumping on his door. He sighed and opened his eyes, folded his hands, and stood up to greet his visitor.

"Let's go Troi. The Admiral needs you in the conference room." A voice shouted from outside the room. Troi groaned…he recognized that voice anywhere.

Admiral Marcus's cybernetic first officer Augustus Stryker was standing outside of Troi's quarters pounding so hard he was going to dent the door.

"I heard you the first time, Stryker." Troi said dryly as he opened his automated doors.

"Watch your tongue, Xeno!" First officer Stryker cursed thrusting a finger into Troi's face.

Troi didn't flinch, but cocked an eyebrow almost daring the cyborg to make a move. Troi hated Stryker with a passion not only because the cyborg was a Xenophobe, but because he was a hypocrite about it. Stryker hated anything that wasn't 100% human; didn't trust aliens, certainly didn't like working with them. And yet, after a horrific accident 10 years back he received cybernetic limbs and implants…so many that there was barely an ounce of humanity left in him. The ghost in the machine.

"Come now there's no need for name calling, sir." Troi taunted as he leaned against the side of his doorframe. He narrowed his black eyes and stared into the cyborgs unnatural red ones.

"Stay out of my head, Betazoid!" Stryker warned.

"I don't need to be a telepath to read you," Troi countered, "Not that it would do much help anyways, your brain's bloody empty as it is."

"Why you little-"The door slammed shut in Stryker's face as Troi laughed and pulled on his Grey Starfleet jacket with the yellow shoulders.

He left his room a minute later thankful to see that Cyborg Stryker had left the corridor. Being adopted by human parents and growing up in present day England, Troi had been used to prejudices against him since he was a boy. It still annoyed the shit out of him though.

Troi was a complete professional when it came to his job as ships psychiatrist. He worked with whoever he had to, but Stryker crossed so many lines Troi just gave up trying all together.

* * *

Before he knew it Troi had walked up to the conference room designated only for ranking officers. He pressed the button and the door hissed as it slid open.

"Thank you for joining us Lt. Commander Troi," Admiral Marcus said standing up and motioning for the betazoid to take a seat.

Troi simply nodded before taking his seat amongst the ten other men and women. He quickly glanced at the holographic projector on the table in front of him and saw an image of the Botany Bay only 3 light years away.

Show time.

"Now that we are all here we can begin the meeting. I would like to start off by making a proposal to all of you. I cannot go into details because I have to know that you are all on board with the plan. All I can tell you is that it is highly dangerous and will be harder than any task you've been dealt previously, but if everything goes according to plan…we will be doing the galaxy a great service. And no sentient being will ever forget what we will have done.

"You will all be looked on as heroes."

Troi fought back the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. The fact that Marcus was being completely vague meant that his plan wasn't exactly legal. A plan that other high ranking members of Starfleet certainly wouldn't approve of.

Troi sighed. He swore he would never use his telepathic abilities to snoop. It forced him into situations he didn't want to be in. But he had to know what Admiral Marcus' grand plan was.

He lifted the invisible barrier in his mind and Admiral Marcus' thoughts filled his mind and all his worst fears were confirmed.

A single statement stuck out with exhilaration and excitement.

_War with Klingons._

* * *

Not one of the chief officers declined Admiral Marcus' offer. A chance at fame, fortune, and glory. It seemed that pride overtook mankind's reason.

Marcus sat down in his chair and began to explain his plan.

"Our scanners show us that this sleeper ship is the SS Botany Bay, an Earth made vessel not seen since 2008. It was harboring 73 human Augments, and was believed to have been piloted by this man…"

Admiral Marcus pushed a button and archive footage of Khan from the late 20th century popped up showing him and his followers fighting against humans.

"…Khan Noonien Singh, up and fell off the grid. Now I'm not here to give everyone a history lecture. We all know the stories of the Eugenics Wars and World War III. But I believe Khan to be on that vessel…we're going to intercept it, we're going to find him, and we're going to wake him up."

Troi cleared his throat, "Admiral, with all due respect, why would you want to free him from stasis. Khan was a warlord and a tyrant. You're absolutely right, we have heard the stories…there's no telling what kind of damage he could do if he was set loose."

"Well Troi, for starters we're a lot smarter than our ancestors." Marcus said slyly as he crossed his arms behind his back.

"But what could we possibly have to gain from this?" Troi asked as he ruffled his hair with his hand before propping it under his chin.

Marcus grinned deviously, "Everything. His strength, his intelligence. He is exactly what the federation needs to secure our safety. I have been pressing Starfleet to take a more militarized approach ever since the destruction of Vulcan. Until now my ideas have fallen on deaf ears.

"No more planets and no more innocent lives will end so long as the Federation holds power."

Marcus went on to kindly explain that if any of the chief officers leaked this information to any other member of Starfleet they would be killed in a fashion that looked like an accident.

Admiral Marcus didn't fancy being discovered as a traitor and convicted of potential war crimes.

But in the end who could blame him?

* * *

Marcus oversaw the _USS Vengeance_ as it used its magnetic field to pull the Botany Bay into the _Vengeance's_ empty cargo deck.

All other crew members aboard the_ Vengeance_ were led to believe that the cyrotubes uncovered in the ancient sleeper ship were being taken to a research facility back on Earth for scientific purposes. They remained oblivious to the fact that a 300 year old warlord was about to be awoken from hibernation.

Two ensigns were assigned to load the 73 cyrotubes onto carts and wheel them onto Vengeances platform so the Botany Bay may be released back into space.

"How did we get roped into this?" Ensign Roberts asked his companion as they bent down and lifted the 300 pound cyrotube off the mobile hover cart and placed it at the end of the row. They had been ordered to line up the tubes in a straight line for initial inspection.

"Just shut it, we're lucky to have been assigned to the _Vengeance_." Ensign Malcolm scolded as they heaved the second tube down and dropped it not-so-gracefully. "Strength of Starfleet."

They went on chatting as they kept carting the cyrotubes back and forth. They were both completely fatigued and still had 10 remaining tubes to go.

They bent down and each gripped an end of tube 24 and began side stepping over to the cart.

"WATCH IT!" Malcolm warned as he saw Roberts bump into the railing and lose his footing. The redshirt lost his hold of the cyrotube which crashed to the ground and flipped several times down the ramp with a bang that echoed throughout the loading deck.

A noise so loud that neither of the men detected the sound of glass cracking.

"Jesus Christ," Malcolm went over and gave Roberts a hand, "You okay."

Roberts nodded as he bent back down to pick the cyrotube up again and putting it with the others, "This girls heavy."

After finishing their difficult task the two men left the cargo loading dock. The room went dark as the overhead lights turned off automatically. The only lighting in the room came from the cyrotubes which gave off a mist like blue light. As the night went on the light inside Cyrotube 24 began to flicker on and off before completely shutting down. 24's built-in computers safety system was failing. And with no one there to fix it, the emergency thawing process would eventually be triggered and the female Augment inside was going to be awakened.

* * *

**Thank you everyone for giving me a moment of your valuable time. It would mean the world to me if you would leave a review! They keep me motivated and make me want to update faster! Next chapter is when the story really picks up and gets into the main plotline of the story. Hope you stick around for it. Thanks again!**

**B. Nightshade out...**


	3. Bring Me To Life

**Hello! I'm back, I'm trying to juggle this story, school, as well as a Sherlock story. Alas, here is chapter 3. I hope you enjoy. It focuses on the escaped Augment.**

**Let me know what you think. Thanks to everyone who took the time to read and/or review :)**

**I do not own Star Trek...sad day**

* * *

**September of 1994**

_She had been reading Moby Dick in her quarters when the first series of explosions went off. The force of impact threw her from her bed as the walls rattled. Pieces of drywall fell from the ceiling and showered down onto her. _

_Casting her book down she immediately slipped on her white sneakers that matched her white uniform scrubs. She reached the knob of her door and noticed that it had been automatically locked from the security center. The doctors most likely didn't want 50 super soldiers running around unsupervised. But that wouldn't hold Aurora back. She took a couple steps back and charged at her door…once…twice…three times. It barely left a dent in the metal frame…but it did leave a burn in her shoulder._

_That was when the second explosion went off. Causing the power to shut off. Without power, the security system would crash and she could get out. Right on cue, she heard the locks click and she sprang up and bolted from her room, her braid bouncing against her back. She made it ten feet when a bomb blew up behind her. If she had waited five seconds, she would've been in the crossfire._

_Aurora stumbled out of the facility as she coughed from the black smoke. Dozens of bodies lied dead around her as she carefully maneuvered around them. Something sparked in her at seeing the bodies of her friends, who were now no more than empty vessels in broken pieces. It was not sadness, or grief that filled her…but rage. An insatiable urge to find the people responsible and beat them to death with her bare hands…rage, the curse of the Augment. _

_Aurora was considered young for an Augment. Bred in a glass tube 8 years ago with superior strength and intellect. That was the sole purpose of the Augments, beacons of hope in dark times during the third World War. But once humanity saw the power that these genetically engineered soldiers possessed…the humans began exterminating them in fear of the power the Augments held. Ironic that they were bred to end the war and enforce peace…unfortunately it was only achieved through their downfall. Humans would band together to eradicate the Augments._

_Aurora was snapped back to reality when she felt a sharp pain and immediately gripped the top of her left arm with her right hand. She felt blood drip between her fingers as she applied pressure to the bullet wound. She knelt down and huddled toward the facilities parking lot. She had to get out of here and quickly. _

_She pulled her palm away from her opposite arm and looked at the wound. She was bleeding heavily and the bullet was still embedded in the skin. She had to apply considerable pressure to the wound now and deal with the bullet later. _

_She used her teeth to bite through her left sleeve and completely tore the thing away before using it as a tourniquet around her bicep. She mentally pushed the pain away into the deepest darkest corner of her mind before focusing on the current task at hand. _

_Getting out alive. _

"_Freeze!" A voice shouted as a high powered rifle was pointed at her and a little red light lined up between her eyes. _

_Aurora slowly looked up and saw a man in a military uniform standing about 10 feet away from her in between a row of cars. _

_Aurora looked down to survey her surroundings before looking back up. Before the soldier realized what was happening Aurora fisted a handful of dirt and launched it at his face. _

_The soldier recoiled to shield his eyes from the dirt and pebbles, and raised his gun instinctively. Aurora saw her window of opportunity and sprang forward and vaulted between his legs before springing up behind him and grasping both sides of his head. As she clutched fistfuls of hair she swung herself hard to the side taking his head with her. There was a loud distinguishing crack as his body fell limp and crashed to the ground with a broken neck._

_Aurora heard another explosion and snapped her head up to see the facility in flames as the foundation of the building began to crumble. She heard distant screams in the background from her fellow Augments as well as the facility's doctors and wardens. _

_The gunfire never stopped and continued well into the night. _

_She kneeled down and clamped her hands against her ears in attempt to tune out the gunfire. But it was all in vain and eventually she succumbed and let out a bloodcurdling scream from the torment she had witnessed. _

_Once she had settled down her fight or flight instincts kicked in and she realized the only way out of this situation alive, was if she kept moving. So she staggered to her feet and began to run, but not before grabbing one of the dead soldiers firearms. _

_She ran through the night until she came upon an abandoned gas station and decided that it would have to make do for camping for the night. _

_She snatched several of the candy bars from the front desk and devoured them before flushing them down with a 2 liter bottle of orange Gatorade. Her stomach rumbled in satisfaction and she allowed herself a moment of rest before she walked down the aisles looking for skin care products. _

_She found a packaged set of tweezers that she would need to use to extract the bullet from her arm. _

_It wasn't as hard as it looked, she had studied enough about anatomy in the facility to know which nerves and veins to avoid when performing surgery…even if it was on oneself. _

_Aurora grunted as she clasped on to bullet with the metal tweezers before yanking it out of her skin. _

_She sighed a breath of relief at having the foreign object out of her body. She then made her way back to the checkout counter and lied down on the white tiles before drifting off to sleep. _

_Her dreams, or rather her nightmares, were filled with explosions, gunfire, and screams. Her only saving grace was the bell chiming that brought her back to reality. _

_Although a bell ringing usually meant someone was entering the building… _

_She slowly opened her eyes and heard footsteps with in the shop. They were heavy and slow as if someone was looking for something. _

_Aurora slowly grabbed hold of the soldier's pistol she had snatched and quietly loaded the clip into place._

_The person must have heard her because the footsteps stopped. Seeing no other option Aurora jumped up from behind the front desk and aimed the muzzle of the gun at the visitor._

"_Who are you?" Aurora demanded as she squinted her eyes at the tall man with the slicked back black hair. He was wearing a black trenchcoat, a grey undershirt, black cargo pants and boot. He looked like an angel of death. He looked her up and down and was able to deduce from her white tattered uniform that she was a survivor of the bombed facility in Cleveland._

"_I'm someone like you," The man said in an incredibly low and sinister voice that matched his looks. Aurora couldn't explain it but she believed him and knew he was an Augment like her. Against her better judgment she lowered the gun and tucked it into the back of her pants._

"_After clearing the zone of any hostiles, I noticed a trail of blood you left and was able to track you here. No human could have made it this far and not succumbed to blood loss. Tell me, are there any others who made it out?" he asked. _

_Aurora shook her head quickly, "I'm the only one."_

_She looked up and saw anger flash through his perfect blue eyes. He ran a hand through his slicked back ebony hair. "Pity…would you like to come with me?"_

"_I don't even know who you are," Aurora narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms._

_The man smirked ever so slightly as he countered, "And I don't know who you are."_

"_Andel. Aurora Andel." She said shyly as she looked up into his eyes._

"_My name is Khan."_

* * *

**Stardate 2258.55**

Aurora's eyes began to flutter as her flashback came to an end. She was about to bring up an arm to rub her eyes when she realized that she felt incredibly stiff and practically immobilized.

Hell, she couldn't even summon the strength to open her eyes!

It hurt her lungs to take such shallow breaths, but at least they were working properly. She felt paralyzed and it suddenly dawned on her that she was still in her cyrotube.

Memories began to flood through her as she remembered how her mentor Khan had put himself and the other 72 Augment survivors into the pods and launched them into space. After that final ambush, Khan had determined that Earth was no longer safe for their kind.

Many had been lost that night, including Khan's own wife and son.

She struggled in pain as she pushed the heavy lid of the cyrotube up so she could crawl out. She cried out in pain as she pushed it as far as she could before summoning just enough strength and speed to quickly roll out. She tumbled onto the cold metal floor and curled herself into the fetal position as her cyrotube snapped shut and turned itself back on.

She felt cold. She shouldn't be feeling cold. She was an Augment; she wasn't affected by such sensations as regular humans were.

After what felt like hours waiting for her body to wake up she sprawled out and began to crawl on all fours across the cold tiles; it practically froze her knees, palms, and toes as she moved. Goose bumps had begun to form on her arms and thighs. All that clothed her was a thin black tank top that stopped midriff and matching black shorts. Her wavy chocolate brown hair was still in the side braid she had done up before going under.

She made it to a set of stairs and plopped down on the first one. Aurora instinctively wrapped her arms around herself to conserve heat as she looked around the room in confusion.

She needed to find Khan.

Khan, her savior and her mentor. He had taken her off the streets 15 years ago and raised her like he would his own daughter.

She looked down the line of cyrotubes and didn't even know what to do.

She didn't know where she was. Or more importantly, **when** she was. She had never seen such advanced schematics of a space cruiser. She guessed it would've taken at least a century for human architecture to advance this much.

Her inspection was cut short when she heard voices enter the giant metal room. Five from the sound of it.

She quickly snapped her head around and quietly snuck behind a large pile of crates as the men in the grey uniforms began inspecting the cyrotubes. A wave of anxiety waved through her as she realized that they would cross her cyrotube and realize that it was empty.

"Admiral Marcus…he's down here." A voice said.

"Excellent, load up Mr. Noonien Singh and cart him down to the medical wing to start the thawing process. Do not proceed until we have the necessary security." Admiral Marcus ordered.

"Yes sir."

Aurora felt her fists curl up so tightly her knuckles went white as she watched the tube with Khan get hauled away by the five mysterious men…she swore one of them appeared to be blue.

After hearing the door shut again, Aurora stepped out of her hiding spot, "Dammit Aurora, THINK!"

She figured it would be useless to try and wake the rest of the Botany Bay crew up, it had taken her at least an hour to regain most of her motor skills.

She didn't need 70 super humans wondering around a massive spaceship just yet. Her first order of business was to relocate Khan, and find out what these men wanted from him.

Aurora needed to find a computer of some kind, so she could fill in some gaps. Such as where she was…or when she was.

Scanning the room she came across a cart with various technological items. Mainly a lot of handheld devices, that looked a bit like futuristic cellphones.

It would have to do; she was beyond desperate right now. So Aurora grasped one of the handheld devices and ran into the Botany Bay in order to stay hidden.

* * *

Admiral Marcus was feeling rather pleased with himself. He couldn't believe that his plan was coming to fruition. The whole thing had started off as a hail-mary, but with some pulling of strings…he was one step closer to the annihilation of Qo'nos.

He had an army of super-soldiers at his disposal, and Starfleet could never know that he had found the last remnant of World War III. He needed to destroy all evidence that could incriminate him.

So as Admiral Marcus walked back onto the bridge he ordered the chief helmsman to release the Botany Bay back into deep space and then fire at it with a couple photon torpedoes.

The helmsman nodded as he typed the appropriate codes into the system.

Aurora nearly fell over when the ship jerked forward. She grasped onto the wall as she felt the floor moving beneath her.

She ran to the nearest window and noticed that the Botany Bay was enveloped in a purple light that seemed to be acting as some kind of magnetic device.

She panicked when she realized that she was being released back into space without the others. Alone with no way to make it back home.

"No no NO!" she screamed as she slammed her fists against the window. "Dammit!"

If being marooned in space on a powerless ship wasn't bad enough, the incoming missiles were definitely going to make her life worse. She might be a super human clone, but she doubted she could survive an explosion that was about to destroy a ship the size of football field.

Aurora hauled ass as she sprinted to the escape pods. Practically diving inside, punching in the codes, separating from the ship as a deafening noise echoed throughout the tiny pod.

Aurora staggered to her feet as she peered out the tiny window to see her old spaceship ripping apart. She felt her heart racing, adrenaline racing through her as the events of the past 15 minutes began to catch up with her.

She mentally focused and managed to calm down before collapsing in the uncomfortable seat in the crammed escape pod.

She ended up rifled through some of the cabinets in the escape pod and found a spare set of clothes. Gray skinny jeans, black boots, red t-shirt, and a black zip up hoodie.

She quickly pulled the clothes on over her undergarments and plopped down into the seat.

With no other options but to wait, Aurora plopped down in the leather seat of the escape pod.

She needed to find a way back to Earth; she needed to hitchhike a ride…that is if anyone ever found her escape pod.

She sighed as she pulled out the handheld tablet she had swiped from the U.S.S Vengeance and hoped it would fill in a few blanks about what she had missed out on while she was frozen in a tube. She kicked her boots up onto the offline control panel and began to look for answers to her many questions.

* * *

**I imagine Aurora looking like Jennifer Lawrence. She is going to be the main OC of the story, and she's Khan's adoptive daughter so she's a badass. **

**Reviews fuel my fanfiction addiction! **


	4. Never threaten a Warlord

**Hi! So this story is going in a slightly different direction that I had originally planned. It is going to mainly focus on Khan and Aurora (OC) and them trying to adjust to the future they have been thrust into. Kirk will be a major character later in the story, but the way I have the story outlined…he won't be showing up for several more chapters. **

**The true villain of this story is Admiral Marcus. Aurora is the protagonist, Khan is the antihero, and Troi is the guy whose simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.**

**Thanks to everyone who took the time to review, favorite, subscribe, and read :)**

* * *

The Helmsman of the _Vengeance _looked in confusion at the radar in front of him. The two missiles had successfully destroyed the ancient spacecraft _Botany Bay_…but it appeared that one of the escape pods had dislodged itself from the ship moments before detonation.

That wasn't possible though, there was no one left on that ship to commandeer it. It was a sleeper ship. Nonetheless, he figured he would need to bring the situation up to Admiral Marcus sooner rather than later.

Problem was, the Admiral was too focused on the situation at hand; rumor was that one of the frozen pods was going to be opened. Marcus had to be notified though.

* * *

"How long before he wakes up?" Admiral Marcus asked his engineers as they toyed with the cyrotube containing Khan.

"At least an hour." The lead one told him, "It'll take some time before he thaws out."

"Good," Marcus smirked as he folded his arms and looked down at the unconscious Khan.

They were all located in the bridge, which had been completely cleared out to make room for Khan.

His frozen body was pried out and placed onto a metal slab, where thick metal restraints were placed around his wrists and his ankles.

The doctors proceeded to take blood samples, as well as DNA scans of his genetic makeup. They were all working quickly…no one wanting to be standing over the Augment when he awoke.

* * *

_Khan was watching on silently as his three year old son Julian frolicked around the white room joyfully. _

_He knew this was a dream. He knew that his son had died tragically long ago. Died in the arms of his wife as they were burnt alive by the bomb that was dropped onto the Augment refugee camp. _

_Only 73 had survived that night, and the next day he walked the survivors onto a ship and left Earth without looking back. _

_He had been stuck here in limbo since he put himself in stasis. Stuck in this white room, holding onto a memory of his dead family. Holding onto a memory of what they could've been._

"_You've been here to long Khan." Naomi warned her husband as she sat down next to him. Khan shook his head ignoring her as he continued to watch Julian._

"_I need more time…" Khan implored as he slid down onto his knees and reached a hand out towards his son. Julian smiled and began to walk towards his father reaching his arms out wanting to be picked up. _

_Just before father and son could make contact Naomi appeared and scooped their son into her arms just out of Khan's grasp._

"_Please don't do this," Khan begged as he stood up and turned to Naomi. "Don't leave me again."_

_Naomi said nothing, only gripped Julian tightly in her arms. _

_Naomi stepped into her husband and met his lips with a kiss. She slipped her free hand onto his cheek affectionately. Khan melted into her as he gripped a fistful of her brown hair and pulled her in closer. The kiss felt like a goodbye. And he wanted to hold onto it for as long as he possibly could._

"_Ewwww," Julian squealed as he squirmed, trying to free himself from his mother's grasp. Khan smiled and ran a hand through Julian's curly blonde hair. _

"_We need to go." Naomi warned as she cupped his chin to bring his eyes to her. "And you need to wake up."_

_Khan felt a tear slip down as he rested his forehead against hers. He watched helplessly as Naomi slipped out of his grasp and began walking away with their son in her arms. Julian was sucking his thumb sleepily as he began to fall asleep in her arms. _

_Naomi and Julian were wearing white clothes that fit in with their surroundings. Khan was dressed head to toe in black. Black pants, black shoes, black shirt, black coat. He stood out from his family…not belonging with them. The living among the dead._

_He watched longingly as his wife and son disappeared into the white light leaving him alone. Alone and broken._

_He jumped when he felt a hand come down on his shoulder. _

_He turned slowly and looked into the eyes of his adoptive daughter Aurora standing in black beside him, "You're not alone Khan, and you never will be…but she's right though…you need to WAKE UP!"_

Khan's eyes fluttered open as he resurfaced from his dream. The minute he opened them, he snapped them shut at the overwhelming brightness of the overhead light above him.

He went to move his arm but found that it was restrained. When Khan finally adjusted to the white light he looked down his body and saw that he was lying on a gurney with each of his four limbs tied down at the wrists and ankles.

He felt cold…an odd sensation he was not familiar with. All that clothed him was the pair of black pants that clung to his hips. The clothes he wore when he locked himself in the cyrotube.

Khan turned his head towards his restrained wrists above his head, testing the strength of them. They were sturdy…he wouldn't be able to break loose of them.

"Comfortable?" A voice rang out.

Khan slowly turned his head toward the voice and saw a man walk through a door that had automatically slid open.

The man was wearing a grey uniform with several medals pinned at the shoulders, some type of high ranking military officer.

Khan's voice cracked as he spoke, "where am I?"

"You're on my ship…and I am the one who will be asking the questions, Khan."

Khan clenched his jaw and narrowed his gaze at the arrogant man standing on the other side of the room.

If the restraints hadn't given it away, this man was clearly not a friend. Not some random traveler who had happened upon Khan's ship…this man knew who he was dealing with. And he had taken appropriate measures.

"I don't believe we have been acquainted." Khan said slyly.

"You're Khan Noonien Singh, the notorious Augment tyrant who held the old North America at its knees for over a decade."

Khan clenched his fists so hard that the metal from the restraints bit into his wrists. Khan said nothing as the man began to accuse him of a list of offenses that Khan and the surviving Augments had committed against humanity.

"You and the others escaped justice. 600 million dead…all because of you."

Khan smirked as he shook his head. That accusation was simply a twist of the truth. Humanity's version of what had gone down during the Eugenics wars.

He was a cold blooded killer, he would be the first to admit that…but everything that he had done, every life he had taken was about the survival of his people, his friends, and his family.

Not about power.

This life he had been thrust into was not the one he would've chosen. That was the reason he put his people on that ship…that one day they could find a land of their own to call home.

Clearly, they never made their destination.

"I am Admiral Marcus, the captain of the USS Vengeance. It is the year 2258 and humans are no longer alone in the universe."

Khan quickly calculated that he had been in suspended animation for over 249 years.

"In light of current events, the United Federation of Planets is taking drastic measures to ensure the safety of its citizens."

Khan was forced to listen as Admiral Marcus went on to explain how Khan was to catch up the universes history, and ultimately design advanced weapons for Marcus's ship. All because a violent race called the Klingons were threatening the Federation with intergalactic war. And Marcus needed advanced weapons to stop this war from happening.

"When you are on board you will be referred to as John Harrison, a weapons specialist who has recently transferred over. If I do not have 110% of your cooperation I will kill every single member of your crew…one by one, with you being tied down and watching…are we clear?"

Khan cracked his neck and took a breath before he spoke, "You should know I don't take kindly to taking orders, or to be exploited for your petty vendettas. I find it fair to warn you that the minute you let your guard down…I will kill you."

Marcus smirked as he folded his arms behind his back and walked out the way he came in. The door hissing closed behind him.

A few seconds after the Admiral left, Khan's restraints unlocked and he fell forward onto the ground. Out of reflex he stuck his arms out and used them to break his fall by rolling over his shoulder and landing back on his feet.

Khan turned towards the table in his cell. On it was a uniform. Black boots, black cargo pants, and a long black shirt with the Starfleet symbol embroidered on the chest. Seeing no choice, Khan slipped the material over his arms and head before pulling it down his chest.

* * *

"Are you telling me that one of them has escaped?" Marcus hissed as he slammed the lid of the empty cyrotube down.

The helmsman ran his hand through his hair, "It would appear that way."

After the helmsman had informed the Admiral of the dislodged escape pod from the Botany Bay, Admiral Marcus went down to the cargo hold to investigate. It was only a matter of time before they found that one of the remaining cyrotubes was empty.

"You're dismissed." Admiral Marcus spat through gritted teeth as he marched off with his fists clenched.

First Officer Stryker was on his tail.

"Meet in the briefing room, authorized personnel only…pull up security footage from the Hanger!" Marcus ordered.

* * *

Admiral Marcus, First Officer Stryker, Lt. Malachi Troi, and a couple others were all in the briefing room watching footage of the young augment girl awakening from stasis after her cyrotube went faulty.

Low and behold she snuck back onto the Botany Bay when it was released back into space. Chances were high that she was in the escape pod that had survived the blast.

"I will not allow one little Augment bitch to destroy this entire operation!" Marcus shouted to his first officer. "Find that escape pod…and destroy it."

"Sir, what about Khan?" Troi asked.

"What about him…he's never getting his crew back anyway. The minute he's completed the long-ranged torpedoes, him and his damned crew will be terminated."

Malachi Troi gulped as he tugged on the collar of his uniform. He needed to talk to Khan when he got the chance.

He had to recruit Khan to his side…and pray that the ancient warlord would listen to reason.

* * *

**I hope everyone is enjoying the story and isn't too confused. I also hope there aren't too many continuity errors. I know enough about Star Trek to understand what's going on, but not enough to know its history front to back. **

**Next chapter switches back to Aurora and her fighting for survival.**

**As always, please take the time to review. If you would take the time to read…could you take the time to write a tiny review?**


	5. Pirates of the Space Carribean

**Hello here is chapter five as promised. Thank you to those who reviewed and read. Please keep it up. It gives me motivation to update faster. **

**Once again if anything is too confusing or doesn't make much sense, please let me know. I want this to be as easy to read as possible.**

**Italics indicate flashbacks or dreams**

**SHALL WE BEGIN?**

* * *

_Khan stepped out of the soundproof room and saw 19 year old Aurora sitting in a seat across from two of his closest soldiers Roth and Malik. _

_Khan's wife Naomi had gone into labor a couple hours ago, and everyone was on edge about it. Augment births did not always go the smoothest, and everyone was prepared for the worst._

_He turned to her and smiled, "you have a little brother."_

_Aurora grinned from ear to ear at the good news. Khan nodded to the door, "let me take you to him."_

_She practically sprung up from her chair as she followed Khan into the birthing room. _

_Naomi was sitting up on the bed with a few blankets swaddled up on her lap. She was absolutely glowing as she rocked the little infant while whispering words of endearment to her newborn son. _

"_Would you like to hold him?" Naomi asked her while she still focused on her son. _

"_I would love to," Aurora's voice cracked as she sat down in the rocking chair at the foot of the bed. Naomi gently passed the baby over to Khan who in turn put him in Aurora's arms. _

"_Hi there…" she whispered as she tickled his stomach lightly with the tip of her finger. "I'm Aurora; I'm your big sister. Just look at you, you got big blue eyes just like your dad. Do you have a name yet?"_

_Khan smiled, "We named him Julian. Julian Aurelius Singh."_

"_I like that…Julian." Aurora smiled as she rocked him. This memory went on to become one of the best of her life. One that she would often time look back on, once the tides of the war turned against them._

oOoOo

Aurora's eyes snapped open as her dream came to an end.

She was getting really tired of these goddamn flashbacks. It was bad enough having to live through these events once…but to have them replay in her head while she slept was too much to bear.

If Aurora didn't get picked up soon…she was going to kill something. Unfortunately, the only sentient being in this damned escape pod was her!

She grabbed her hair in frustration and screamed loudly. She was losing what little sanity she had left.

She lost count of the exact number of days she had been floating in deep space. She had to rely on her internal body clock for information. Without a watch, her best estimate was somewhere between 40 and 60 days.

So she had been floating around in a space pod for two months, with no end in sight.

She had utilized the ships handheld computer to the best of her ability. She had gone on to learn everything there was to know about the 249 years she had been frozen in suspended in animation. She had missed her 272nd birthday. She was 272 years old but still retained the body and mind of a 23 year old superhuman.

Aurora had learned about the thousands of identified humanoid races and how to differentiate them. The blue skinned Andorians, the pointy eared Vulcans and Romulans, and the green skinned seductive Orions were just a handful of the mass.

She had also learned about how Earth had made contact with the Vulcans in 2063 with Zefram Cochrane successfully creating the Earth's first warp capable ship.

She also learned the fate of the Augments. All destroyed. The end of World War III had resulted in the deaths of some 600 million humans and the complete annihilation of her species. All that remained was her and the other 72.

She swore that if she ever made her way back to the _USS Vengeance_ she would kill any and all who stood between her and her family.

She had lost far too many, she would not lose the last of them.

oOoOo

Salvation came in the form of a beeping scanner. Aurora had jumped up from her seat and ducked over to the control panel that showed that an unidentified ship was closing in on her small escape pod.

She peered out the small window at the top of the ship and deduced from the incoming ships design that it was Ferengi.

She recalled that the Ferengi were notorious alien pirates who looted and pillaged any ship they would come across. The Ferengi were also known to use deadly force on the crew if they stood between them and their money.

Aurora realized this could essentially be problematic. It was not above Ferengi morals to traffic humanoids across the galaxy. Aurora had the strength of 50 men, but she did not know how that compared to a Ferengi's physiology.

She wasn't willing to take that risk…not quite yet. She felt the escape pod rattle and recognized the sensation as a magnetic ray pulling the pod into the ship.

Aurora quickly yanked up one of the metal floorboards intending to hid there. It was only a matter of time before the orange skinned aliens came to investigate her shuttle.

She swore loudly and kicked the single chair as she realized that the crawl space was too small for her to creep into.

She would have to be confrontational about this.

Fine by her.

Right on cue the door hissed open and Aurora whipped her head around to see three Ferengi with orange skin, giant lobes, and pointed teeth staring her down.

"It's a female!" One of the Ferengi said with a lisp.

"A very attractive female," A second one amended as he appeared to eye her up and down, "She'll fetch a pretty penny on the black market!"

All three Ferengi's howled with laughter. Aurora simply crossed her arms and rolled her eyes.

Once the leader stopped laughing he pulled out an outdated phaser rifle and pointed it at her chest, "Enough chit chat, let's go Blondie!"

"You do realize that I'm a brunette right?" Aurora scoffed, "at least I was last time I checked."

"Of course I know you have black hair…what do you think I am…stupid?" he spat all over her as he annunciated his words and Aurora cringed with frustration.

"Yup," Aurora confirmed as she stared at her feet.

"She's got a mouth this one," The leader said as he, "Knock her out!"

She braced herself as the Ferengi's each fired their phasers at her.

Aurora flinched as the blasts hit her, and she instinctively took a few steps back. She felt a jolt of electricity go through her…but that was all. There was no numbing sensation, no entrance or exit wound, no loss of control…nothing happened. If anything it had tickled.

It tickled!

'Good to know something's never change' Aurora thought as she rubbed her stomach and shrugged her shoulders. The Ferengi apparently were thinking the exact same things that Aurora was because their eyes went wide in horror as a smug look crept up onto Aurora's face.

She smirked at them before cracking her knuckles.

"We surrender!" The leader said as it dropped the phaser rifle and put its hands in the air. His two wingmen followed suit and fell to their knees begging for mercy from this human Goddess…she believed that was the correct translation anyway.

'Not today,' Aurora thought as she stepped forward and delivered a round house kick to the head Ferengi causing him to fly back into the metal frame of the inside of his ship and leave a dent.

She then turned her gaze to the two remaining aliens who gave each other a frightened look before turning on their heels to run away. Aurora caught up with them and grabbed each of them by an oversized, extra-sensitive ear.

They howled in pain and attempted to bat her hands away, but she would not budge. It was time to get rid of these repulsive looters. She gripped the two Ferengi's ears tighter before bashing their heads together making them go limp to the floor.

They nursed their heads and didn't put up much of a fight as Aurora drug them each by the lapels of their shirts to her escape pod.

"What do you think you are doing, Woman?" The leader asked as he was tossed face first into the escape pod.

"We're switching ships..." She answered as she flung the two others in alongside their leader.

"We have no food, no water…we won't last very long," They pleaded.

"I made it two months before you stumbled across me." She assured them as she stood in the doorway, "Don't worry, someone is bound to turn up eventually."

"We'll die out here!" The leader pleaded one last time as it crawled onto his knees and graveled at her feet.

"Not my problem…" She sighed as she shut them in and locked the hatch.

She tuned out the screams and shrill cries as she ejected them back into space. After watching the small circular shuttle disappear, she left the cargo hold and decided to familiarize herself with her newly commandeered ship.

She would have without a doubt let them live if they had helped her. Instead they opened the door hatch with guns pointed at her and threatened her with enslavement. After a lifetime of having guns thrust in her face, Aurora was fresh out of mercy…no matter how much time had passed since the Augment Wars.

She made her way up to the bridge of the emptied ship. It was a small ship, managed by only three crew members. But it would do just fine.

It would be a suitable space craft to get her back to Earth.

* * *

**So two months have passed and Admiral Marcus never found her...next chapter switches back to Khan and Troi. **

**Please feel free to leave a review!**


	6. The Point of No Return

**Hello. Here's the latest chapter of Out of the Dark, into the Light. This chapter focuses on the alliance between Khan and Troi. This is where things start to pick up their pace...enjoy :)**

* * *

Malachi Troi smiled politely at the two security officers who were standing outside the med bay that had been turned into a makeshift prison.

"Lt. Troi?" The first red shirt asked surprised to see the Betazoid, "what are you doing down here?"

"Admiral sent me to do a psychoanalysis test on our friend from the past,"

"It was my understanding that a team of counselors were coming down." The second red shirt said in confusion.

"Oh they are, I'm here for the preliminary screening. Homicidal mad man and all…can't have him trying to kill every person who walks through that door now can we?"

"You can't possibly want to go in there alone," The first red shirt said in disbelief as he realized Troi had no backup, "This guy Khan has already injured 4 crewmembers. One barely got away with his life."

"The augments might have superior strength and intelligence than humans…but his mental abilities are not quite up to par with mine. I'll be fine, I'm an empath remember…I can make him feel any emotion I desire him to. He gets hostile I'll simply calm him down." Troi went on to explain as he tapped his temple with his finger."

"Very well Lt." The red shirt said with skepticism in his voice. "There's a second set of doors after this one, it'll need voice recognition as well as an optical scan…good luck."

The first set of doors hissed open and Troi slowly walked forward. After hearing the doors close back up he pulled out his frequency scrambler so that whatever was about to happen with Khan would not show up on security cameras or radios.

He took a deep breath before stepping forward and allowing the red laser light to scan his right black eye. He then leaned into the speaker and clearly spoke "Malachi Troi."

The second doors hissed open and Troi saw the Augment Khan standing over a hollowed out torpedo. Khan slowly turned his head and locked eyes with him.

Troi opened his mouth trying to think of where to begin, he had played this conversation out many a time in his head but right now he couldn't think of anything better to say than "Hi."

Khan slowly straightened his back with the grace of a machine, and began stalking over to the black eyed alien.

Before he could process what was happening, Khan's right hand came forward to his neck and began to squeeze the life out of him as he forcefully slammed him against the white metal wall so hard it warped.

"I thought the last message I left was quite clear," Khan calmly said as Troi attempted to gasp for breath.

Troi made a choking noise as he clutched at Khan's hand in vain to pry it off. In a last ditch effort he focused his gaze into Khan's icy blue eyes and opened a telepathic connection between the two.

_Let me go_ Troi's voice echoed inside Khan's head. The augment closed his eyes in confusion and discomfort. He loosened his grip enough so that Troi could breathe but still held him in his grasp against the wall.

_What the hell is this? Why are you in my head?_ Khan's voice echoed.

_Not a whole lot of time. Short version: I'm not human, I'm a telepathic alien…and I'm trying to prove to you that I'm on your side._ Troi insisted.

_If that was true, _Khan's eyes slanted, _how do I know that this isn't some kind of trick?_

Troi pondered the thought, good question honestly. _Do you really have a whole lot of other options?_

_I can escape this all on my own, _Khan's lip curled into a devilish smile, _and when that happens you best not stand in my way…because the first blood that runs will be from your Admiral Marcus._

"Oh," Troi almost laughed finally speaking aloud, "You really don't want to do that?"

"Oh believe me I really do…but for your sake, humor me." Khan said slyly.

"I have seen it." Troi calmly told him as he finally escaped Khan's hold on him. "I have seen how this all pans out. And it ends with nothing but death."

Khan narrowed his eyes once more, "I have seen entire nations fall…death really does not affect me. That is what you people can't seem to understand."

"Maybe not, but it affects them, all 72 of your people. I'm here to make sure that doesn't happen…Admiral Marcus has lost sight of everything he once held in high regards. He would sacrifice 6 billion lives, an entire planet, just to get the war he wants. And if you follow through with _this_…" Troi beckoned to the empty torpedo. "You…will…fail. I promise you that."

"I'm simply building your prototype weapons as your Admiral so kindly demanded of me. So whatever you say 'happens', it is on him."

"Somehow, smuggling your crew out in torpedoes doesn't strike me as the Admiral's idea." Troi said crossing his arms and in turn got a glare from Khan.

"Oh stop looking at me like that; it doesn't take a genius or a telepath to figure it out."

"Just because you have little puzzle pieces floating around in that little head of yours, does not mean that the visions will come to pass."

"Are you willing to risk your crew's life on that claim?" Troi countered, once again looking down at the hollowed out tube.

"Do not speak as if you have care for my family and my friends. I put them on that ship to escape Earth over 250 years ago…we were hunted down and exploited then, just as I am now."

"I'm not here to blackmail you Khan…" Troi drawled as he leaned forward on the offline torpedo and pressed his palms together facing the Augment, "I'm here to present you with an opportunity. A chance to fulfill what you were bred and born to do…prevent war."

Khan listened to the offer the alien had given him and decided he had to either commit to it now or never.

A storm was coming, and no matter what move Khan made…he was smack in the middle of it.

oOoOo

It had been five long months since Khan had been awoken from stasis. Five months since he had successfully built the advanced long ranged torpedoes that he had been assigned. Five months since he had built the torpedoes hollowed out with the intention of fitting his crew into them until he could smuggle them to safety.

He trusted Malachi Troi's word when he said he was here to help…but Khan grew tired of waiting for the opportune moment. Khan didn't take orders, and he was all out of patience. He hated being out of the loop…his whole life he had been a leader, not a follower.

Troi didn't see Khan often but when he did they usually spoke through telepathy…Troi was still acting under the assumption of preparing for an intergalactic war. But when Troi discovered that Khan was planning on smuggling the crew out…he quickly put a halt to that plan. He was desperate to stop this upcoming war, so desperate that he was willing to put his trust into Khan.

"You're not smuggling your crew out of here…I am." Troi had told him after Khan had agreed to ally himself to Troi.

And so Troi presented his idea to the Admiral, use the weapons against Khan to ensure his cooperation…anything other than that would result in the detonation and death of his crew.

So at this moment there were 72 torpedoes beings stuffed with the 72 members of his crew.

Of course things went from bad to worse one day, when Troi walked into the security wing where Khan was staying and began pacing around frantically.

"We've got a slight problem," Troi whispered as he stood on the opposite side of Khan's cell.

Khan just rolled his eyes, of course something went wrong. Something always goes wrong. This plan was too perfect and too hastily thrown together for everything to be perfect.

"What?" Khan said in a dangerously low voice.

"There are 72 cyrotubes down there; I did as you asked…I suggested loading your crew into the torpedoes."

Khan's back just stiffened, "do not dodge the question Lt, tell me…What. Is. Wrong?"

"One of the tubes was found with significant damage to the freezing sequence…"

Khan feared the worst, if the cryotubes sequences had failed, whoever was in that specific tube was long dead.

"Which one was it?" Khan demanded. He knew every single augments corresponding cryotube number and he wanted to know which of his friends had perished.

"It was number 24…"

Khans heart dropped and his shoulders slumped. His hands curled up around the edge of the bench he was sitting on, so tightly that his knuckles went as white as snow.

"Who was she?"

"Her name was Aurora…she was like my daughter."

"My God…" Troi ran a hand through his hair, "I'm terribly sorry."

"If possible…I'd like to see her body." Khan asked the favor, knowing perfectly well that the answer would be no. Admiral Marcus neither cared nor sympathized for Khan's fallen ally. He would simply toss her dead body out with the garbage.

Troi gave him a puzzled look as he paced around the outside of the cell wall, "What are you talking about?"

Khan straightened his back before slowly standing up from his seat to face Troi.

"Your daughter isn't dead, Khan," Troi informed him, "She wasn't even in the cryotube, it malfunctioned somehow and she was freed…she escaped from this ship and is somewhere out there in deep space."

Khan's eyes widened as he sucked in a breath. Aurora was alive, and out there somewhere. Suddenly she was all that mattered.

All that mattered was finding Aurora, and getting her to safety.

oOoOo

Aurora stepped off the space cruiser as it docked at a launch pad. She had been hitchhiking rides across various spaceships for the past three months. She didn't want any trails that could eventually be led to her. She fastened a new identity as Rory Anderson. A 25 year old drifter whose parents had died in space when she was three years old. She had plans of enlisting in Starfleet when she arrived back on Earth. She knew that the ship that had Khan was a Starfleet warship and she had the intention of finding that ship and getting Khan back.

She threw her bag over her shoulder and stepped back onto Earth for the first time in over 250 years.

She had read countless files on Earth's history and timeline. She had learned about the rise and fall of societies and how Zefram Cochrane had made contact with the pointy eared aliens the Vulcans in 2063.

She had learned everything, and yet nothing prepared her for the real thing. This Earth was but a shadow of the one she knew. It was full of light and life, whereas the home she left behind was cold and broken.

Funny how time could change things.

* * *

**As always, leave a review if convenient :)**


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